tvos
Latest
Apple TV gets better for cord-cutters and cable TV subscribers
Today at its big WWDC keynote, Apple announced a few updates for the Apple TV platform. New apps arriving include Sling TV (finally), Fox Sports, the French streaming service Molotov and the Minecraft: Story Mode game. Apple is also upgrading the remote application on your iPhone. The app is a lot more like the hardware remote, with touch-based navigation, Siri voice search, plus the ability to use the keyboard for input and game control using the accelerometer. As for the hardware itself, a new feature called "Live Tune in" will let you switch instantly between livestreaming channels like Disney, ESPN and more. There's also a dark theme now, while Automatic App downloads mean that when you install a universal app on your iPhone or iPad, it will be there on your Apple TV too.
Infuse helps you find fresh videos on Apple TV and iOS
Media portal and set-top box makers have tried any number of things to help you decide what to watch next, ranging from visual makeovers to voice recognition. However, the team at FireCore thinks it has a better way: filters. The new Infuse 4.2 for Apple TV and iOS has a redesigned library view that not only helps you find videos the old-fashioned way, but incorporates smart filters that automatically sift through your collection. You can quickly figure out which TV shows are kid-appropriate, for example, or look for just the movies that came out last year. Moreover, you can create home screen favorites that revolve around these filters -- you could always see what's new the moment you sit down for the evening.
Apple TV updated with folders, dictation and Siri for App Store
Today at Apple's "Loop You In" event the company had plenty to announce, including an update for its Apple TV. The headline features for the fourth version of the software are its App Store and new Siri Remote, and its next update will make both of those easier to use. Consistent with what we've seen in recent beta tests, Tim Cook just announced that an update arriving today will add folders, dictation, Siri voice search for the App Store, access to users' iCloud Photo Libraries, and support for Live Photos.
Vevo's Apple TV and Android apps offer a more customized experience
Ask most people what comes to mind when they think of Vevo, and the answer will probably be the massive number of Vevo-sponsored musical artist pages on YouTube. If you watch a popular music video on YouTube, it's probably through the artist's channel in partnership with Vevo. However, the company wants to be known for more than just YouTube -- it wants its own apps and website to be a place for people to discover music and, yes, watch the most popular videos. To that end, the company rebuilt its iOS app from the ground up to offer users a personalized music experience based on artists they loved and the things they played the most. Today, the company's expanding that experience to two big platforms: Android and Apple's tvOS. Both apps launch today and are available in Google Play and the Apple TV app store, respectively.
Apple TV is getting badly-needed voice-dictation
Apple is really trying to fix one of the biggest complaints about its generally solid 2015 Apple TV: text input. The previous beta 2 of tvOS 9.2 introduced a bluetooth keyboard, and the latest beta 3 version of tvOS 9.2 now has dictation and App Store search for Siri. The dictation feature lets you speak to input text and spell passwords rather than typing them using the remote -- a process that's infuriatingly slow and clunky. To use it, you hold down the remote's Siri button and speak, with confirmation that it hears you coming via a live level meter.
What picture-in-picture on the new Apple TV would look like
A subscription TV service isn't the only add-on we could envision for the new Apple TV. Developer Steven Troughton-Smith -- who gave us a peek at iPad split-screen multitasking well before Apple started offering it -- whipped up an app for the device with picture-in-picture support that looks right at home on tvOS. Support for the feature isn't built into the box yet, but we can't imagine official support for this will be too many software revisions away. Older smart TV platforms like Google TV and Yahoo Widgets! handled some form of multitasking, and if the future of TV is apps like Apple says, they'll need to figure this out along the way.
Apple TV software update adds missing Podcasts app
Apple has a host of notable updates coming for iOS, the Apple Watch and the new Apple TV. But in the meantime, the company has just released tvOS 9.1.1, a relatively minor bug fix update that nonetheless contains at least one user-facing feature: a Podcasts app. The fact that the new Apple TV shipped without this app was rather puzzling, as the older Apple TV has had podcast features for some time. Now, that gap has been closed.
Apple's latest iOS, Watch and TV betas pack big features
Apple's pre-release software isn't usually buzz-worthy outside of major revamps, but there's definitely a reason to take notice today. The company's iOS 9.3, tvOS 9.2 and WatchOS 2.2 betas all introduce some hefty upgrades that are likely to get some use. Of the bunch, iOS 9.3 is the centerpiece. There's a new Night Shift mode that changes to warmer color tones to cut back on blue light and help you sleep, akin to third-party apps like F.lux. You'll also see your Apple Watch goals in the Health app, tighter Apple Music integration with CarPlay, a Classroom app for guided lessons and Notes secured by Touch ID. There's even a multi-user feature on iPads, although you shouldn't get too excited -- it's currently meant for students, not the family tablet back home.
The App Store now shows you when iOS apps work on Apple TV
The fourth-generation Apple TV already has over 2,600 apps, a significant number considering tvOS is such a young platform. Naturally, as more developers make their applications compatible with the new hardware, Apple wants users to easily find these. In order to do that, Apple's iOS App Store now lets you know when its iPhone or iPad apps also have an Apple TV version, similar to what it does with the Watch.
The Apple TV already has over 2,600 apps
It really shouldn't surprise anyone that the new Apple TV is already home to over 2,600 apps. The company that helped launch the entire app-centric industry might have been a bit late to the streaming-media box app store, but according to data collected by appFigures, tvOS is well on its way to becoming another popular platform for developers to build upon.
Your new Apple TV finally works with the Remote app
Ask owners about their biggest gripes with the new Apple TV and they'll probably mention the text input. Given that the Remote app hasn't worked with the box since launch, you've been forced to enter account info and text searches very... very... slowly. At last, however, relief is in sight: a new Apple TV update brings support for the Remote app on both your iOS devices and the Apple Watch (through the equally new watchOS 2.1). You can now break out your iPhone the next time a streaming video app wants your password.
Sky's Now TV app brings more UK content to Apple TV
While the new Apple TV has been available to order for over a week, UK-centric apps have been a bit thin on the ground. Less than a week after the BBC confirmed that iPlayer is coming to the streamer, Sky has gone one better and released an app for Now TV. Its release doesn't come as much of a surprise, given the fact that it is already available on third-generation Apple TVs and the iPhone maker is actively plugging the service on its website, but it's good to see more broadcasters committing to Apple's new hardware.
Apple TV game developers are required to support the Siri remote
In a programming guide for Apple's new tvOS platform, the company notes that every game developed for the Apple TV is required to support the touchpad-enabled Siri remote.
The new Apple TV is running a new operating system called tvOS
Apple's Eddy Cue just introduced the new Apple TV, and he's saying that the future of TV is apps. To run all these apps, Apple has developed a new operating system for the Apple TV called, appropriately, tvOS. It shouldn't be a wildly different development experience than what's already out there for the Mac and iOS -- there's shared technology and tools like Xcode and Metal, and a bunch of the first round of apps and games are near-identical to what's out there for iOS already. Developers can even build universal apps that let you buy one app that works across your iPad, iPhone, and Apple TV. The first round of apps includes expected video options like Netflix, HBO Now and Hulu, but there are also a bunch of iOS-style apps like Airbnb and Zillow and games like Crossy Road and a game from the Rayman series.
The new Apple TV brings apps, Siri and a touchpad remote for $149
The new Apple TV is here, just unveiled at today's big event. Speculation about Apple's plans for the living room has circled for years, and this represents its most powerful assault on the space so far. A hardware refresh in 2012 added 1080p support, but not much else, so we're more than due for an upgrade, and exec Eddy Cue appropriately called today "a big day for the big screen." Tim Cook called it "the future of television," promising a new tvOS, App Store and showing off features including deep Siri integration with a new remote. That Siri Remote has a touchpad, mic and Wii-like motion controls built in, necessary for Siri to search across "multiple content options" (iTunes, Netflix, Hulu, HBO and Showtime, with more to come) on a single screen. Universal search is a feature already offered by competitors like Roku, Samsung, Amazon and Xbox that makes it easy to find a show or movie without having to know which service or app it's in first, and now it's on Apple TV too. There will be two versions of the new Apple TV: a 32GB model for $149, and 64GB model for $199, shipping in October to over 80 countries.
Report: the iPhone 6s will get 'always-on' Siri mode
As usual before an Apple event (which is today, in case you've been cave-bound), the rumor mill is churning out new information. We're now hearing that Apple TV will run an all-new operating system called osTV, based on iOS 9, according to 9 to 5 Mac. It'll reportedly carry a similar interface to the current Apple TV, but will sport iOS 9 (and OS X El Capitan) touches like transparency effects. The changes don't sound too drastic, but new Apple TV OS branding that matches watchOS and iOS would be a new development. Apple TV is supposed to also get a new AirBnB app.
